Best places to buy a Bell Broozer?

Please click below to visit the Bell Broozer helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Overall/Summary

OK, I think it’s fair to say that the Bell Broozer is a budget helmet: it’s made from thermoplastic and it’s not the most feature-laden helmet in the world.

But to focus on price and features is very much missing the point. With it’s aggressive good looks and ability to transform from a full face to a open face helmet (like the Nolan N44) it’s offering something new to the market.

It’s ECE rated (and DOT in the US) rated and that chin bar is simple to take off and slot back on.

Side view of the Broozer Cranium with chin bar fitted

It comes with a tinted visor as well as clear and, while we’re not sure how great the venting system is going to be, early word is that it’s a comfortable helmet with no known problems.

So, if you’re after a basic convertable helmet that works well in both configurations and that makes you look great while riding, then the Bell Broozer should be well worth a try.

Safety

First, it can be worn in full face mode so you get a helmet that should give decent face protection, but can also be converted into a open face open face helmet if you like riding with the wind in your face.

It goes without saying that you ought to wear it as a full face to maximise protection.

The Broozer’s been designed from the ground up to offer protection – so when the European ECE version was tested, they’ve given it a P rating for protective chin guard as well as J for open face. Which means when you want protection, it’s there.

Secondly, it’s got a thermoplastic shell, made from something called LG PC/ABS. LG is actually the same LG as the folks who make TVs – but in this case it’s LG Chem. The PC stands for polycarbonate and ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene if you must know) – but they’re both thermoplastics and have been blended together to form the shell of the Broozer.

Understated menace: matte blacks are a classic

Not sure if there’s any safety benefit to doing so (probably more a manufacturing process thing?), still thermoplastic helmets can offer excellent impact protection. And in the Broozer, Bell’s added a dual density EPS liner.

Duals tend not to really be cutting edge these days – some have tri-density and some even more – but there’s no reason to suspect it won’t do its job.

The Broozer’s both ECE and DOT rated, but it’s not been SHARP tested yet (or Snell in the US).

If we look at Bell Helmets SHARP test data to give us a steer on how well the Broozer might perform, the only Bell thermoplastic helmet that’s been tested so far is the Qualifier DLX and it scored 3 stars out of five. Actually, it was tested twice: the original launch helmet and the MIPS version – and both scored 3 stars.

That’s an OKish score but it’s also Bell’s worst score in years (most Bells have scored 5 stars).

Gloss black Broozer with chin bar pulled off

And don’t forget, with a modular helmet, you’re never quite sure how strong the chin bar is or how likely it is to unlock: or more likely in the case of the Broozer, tear off.

And apart from knowing it conforms to ECE standards, there’s not much other data to go on.

OK… so far, so unsure. However, if you’re an open face rider who wants better protection from time to time, it’s gotta be better than no face protection at all, right?

See the chin bar section below to find some modular helmets where you can trust in their chin bar strength.

The Broozer comes with a regular clear visor and a dark tint visor in the box – both fully close off the front of the helmet in full face mode so are great if you’re riding fast or there’s lots of dirt in the air.

The whole thing’s held on your head using a metal micrometric fastener. They’re super quick to use and as long as you check they’re adjusted from time to time, they should be safe and secure.

Ventilation

If you look at the front of the Bell Broozer, in terms of venting, it looks much like any other full face or modular helmet you’ll find on the market.

This one’s the Broozer Free Ride showing front vents

There’s a central chin vent slider and another slider on the top of the helmet to open/close the vents up there too.

And the word is that they’re both pretty easy to find and operate in gloves – and both involve sliding the switch to open or close the vent. So far, so normal.

Slightly weirdly, despite making it so you can close off the chin vent, Bell has also added a pair of always-open vents in the chin bar too. So you can only actually close off some of the venting. Um OK.

A couple of useful links…

Those top vents pull air into the helmet and there’s some generous front-to-back venting channels inside to let the air circulate around before exiting out the… wait a second… there’s no exhaust vent!

A distinct lack of exhausts on the Broozer Free Ride

Just like we saw inside the Scorpion Combat, there’s nowhere for the warm, moist air to exit the helmet out of the back of the helmet. So while you might feel a bit of a breeze coming in, I can’t imagine your head’s gonna keep too cool inside there without somewhere for it to escape, so it might get a tad yucky in there when it’s hot. Eew.

Visor

The visor on the Bell Broozer works in the same way as most modular helmets: it’s not fixed, so you can raise and lower it and you’ll find both a clear and dark tint visor provided in the box.

It has a double opening tab on either side of the bottom of the visor (a good thing) and, while it’s a pretty basic visor in some respects, it is also quick-change. So, you can pull down the visor a bit further than normal which then allows you to pull it out to very quickly swap it out or clean it.

It’s also got Bell’s NutraFog II anti-fog coating on the back of both visors.

We found owners of the current Bell DLX and old Star helmets (which both have NutraFogII visors) tended to rate them anywhere from pretty poor to OK, so expect the Broozer’s anti-fog to be similar: i.e. not the greatest antifog solution in the world but OK in some circumstances (but expect it to fog up in particularly cold/humid weather).

If you’re riding in the Broozer without the chin bar in place and the visor down, expect wind to get up inside and buffet around at anything above 30mph. Though obviously it’ll still give some eye protection against flying debris and direct impacts so it’s still worth using.

Chin Guard

The chin guard on the Broozer is made from the same plastic as the helmet shell. It’s a pretty basic affair – I guess in line with the ethos of the helmet really – but it has been designed (and ECE homologated) to offer protection.

side view of the matte black in open face config

Unlike most modular helmets where the chin bar unlocks, lifts and stays attached to the helmet, the chin bar on the Bell Broozer actually detaches fully from the helmet.

It’s quick to pull off, but it does mean if you’re doing it out on the road, you’ll need to find somewhere to stow it.

To remove, there’s a couple of grey tabs at the underside of the helmet. Pull those down and you pull off the chin bar – really easy. And once you get the hang of it, you can do it while still wearing the helmet (no, NOT while riding!).

We’re not entirely sure how much actual protection the chin bar will give until it’s independently tested.

Yes, it’s done a good enough job to get ECE certified in Europe, but it does leave me with the question mark as to whether it’ll stay attached to the helmet if the helmet flexes during an impact.

And as we’ve seen with quite a few SHARP tested conventional modulars – most chin bar locks do show some weakness over repeated testing, with it being pretty rare for a modular to stay locked across all 32 impact drops.

Having said all that, if you like the idea of having a open face lid that can easily convert into a full face when you need to pile the miles on (or vice versa) then the Bell Broozer now gives you a great option to do just that.

Comfort and Sizing

The Bell Broozer is a medium oval helmet, so should work well for most regular head shapes.

Inside, it’s a fairly basic liner but it is fully removable so you can whip it out and clean it.

Rear view of the Broozer Cranium

Bell says the Broozer’s eyewear compatible as there are ‘eyewear arm pockets’ sown into the liner. And they’ve added padding to the chin strap which should make it comfortable down there too – that’s a bugbear of quite a few riders so Bell’s obviously been listening.

Weight shouldn’t be a problem. Because it’s a fairly basic helmet, even with the chin bar fitted it weighs around 1.36kg (3lbs) which should make it a comfy to wear even after long days in the saddle.

As for long HOT days in the saddle, with no rear air vents, the jury’s out on how comfy that’s gonna make the Broozer.

Finally, Bell makes the Broozer in 3 helmet shell sizes. Not only is that a good thing in safety terms but it means that the size of the helmet will be more visually optimised and look more compact on your head – so you don’t ride around looking like a bobble-head.

Looks & Graphics

There’s a ton of different graphics available for the Broozer – as long as you like your helmet BLACK!

This one’s the Broozer Arc

As you can see from the helmet photos, at the time of writing, every helmet is black. Whether it’s gloss or matt black or black with a highlight such as the Arc, Cranium or Free Ride – they’re all dark helmets with subtle graphics.

The good thing is they’re all very cool and should work well with a huge range of rides.

I can’t believe that Bell wouldn’t release some different colours over time though – and by the time you’re reading this you might be able to see some by clicking the links to our recommended stores below.

Best places to buy a Bell Broozer helmet?

Please click below to visit the Bell Broozer helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).

Bell Broozer Video

Fairly posh bloke shows you round a Broozer Cranium in a 5m video.

Other stuff – audio, warranty

Side view of the Arc

If you want to use a bluetooth headset with your helmet, the Broozer doesn’t have any speaker cutouts inside the helmet. Having said that, the cheekpads do leave space for speakers and we’ve had word of some people fitting them without a problem – including with a Sena smh 10.

Good Alternatives to the Bell Broozer?

Gloss white Mod Bandit

For a more regular style of flip-front helmet, you might wanna check out the Simpson Darksome. Not only does it look very cool but it’s practical, comfortable, comes with a sun visor and has a more advanced composite fibre shell – or carbon fibre if you really want to push the boat out.

Scorpion Combat

The Scorpion Exo-Combat is a mean looking lid but it’s really only a open face helmet – that face guard will protect from the weather but that’s about all. It has got a sun visor though and you can find it on sale for less money than the Broozer.

Nolan’s N44

The Italian Nolan N44 is a really flexible modular that can be worn in 6 different configurations including open face helmet (with or without visor). It’s also got a sun visor, is dual homologated like the Broozer and is great value for money.

Best places to buy a Bell Broozer?

Please click below to visit the Bell Broozer helmets pages at our recommended stores. And if you buy from one, we get a small sum from the sale at no extra cost to you – a massive THANKS! (it’s how we finance the site).